Since Micaeli called me the "blog master" or something like that I decided it was only appropriate to make one last post... about trademark law. Sounds boring, right? Wrong! Think about it... When I started writing this, I began with a list of trademarked terms that I noticed we use everyday:
Cheez Doodle/Cheetos – cheese curls
Sharpie – permanent marker
Styrofoam – polyurethane foam
Tylenol – acetaminophen (this works with lots of medicines, but I think this is the most widespread example)
Scotch Tape – translucent tape
Vaseline – petroleum jelly
Band-Aid - bandage
Chap-Stic – lip balm
Windex – glass cleaner
Crock-Pot – slow cooker
Jell-O - gelatin
Xerox - “to copy”
Lego – Plastic building block
Post-It – sticky note
Saran-Wrap – plastic wrap
Coke – soda (in some areas)
I then decided to look up a list… and some of the things on it were surprising: Dumpster, Rollerblade, Bubble Wrap, Formica, Frisbee, Hacky Sack, Jacuzzi, Q-Tips, Super Hero (yes, the two-word form is trademarked Jake, Matt and Sarah.)
This got me thinking about things that we don’t use as generic terms, but at the same time, we heavily associate them with a particular brand:
Crayon - Crayola
Tampon - Tampax
Orange Juice - Tropicana
Tissues – Kleenex
Cough Drop – Halls
Sandwich Cookie – Oreo
Acne Cream – Clearasil (more prominent in the 80’s, though)
Mouth Wash – Listerine
Multivitamin - CentrumSo seriously, guys... get on it. Start calling your crayons "Crayolas"... I mean that one is so begging to be a generic term.
Thoughts?
